Episode 17 – Murishi, The Species That Eats Monsters (3)
“Crawford, didn’t Muriel say she’s not feeling well?”
“August, can you please give me some space? I’ll talk to Mr. Crawford first.”
Muriel quickly spoke as August seemed ready to draw his sword at any moment.
“Will it be okay?”
“Of course.”
Muriel shrugged her shoulders as if nothing was wrong. August finally went into the lab with a disapproving look on his face, but he left a message to call him if needed.
Muriel didn’t bother to say that doing him doing nothing would help her most. Anyway, she felt good about his willingness to help her. It wasn’t that she had any romantic interest in him, but she felt like they could be good friends. Oh… was this the beginning of Muriel’s fishing ground? Well, whatever.
“What did you want to say?”
Muriel asked, taking a step back, creating some distance between them. The hand still held by him didn’t hurt, so it wasn’t a problem, and since she wasn’t holding on to a leash on him right now, it was better to behave and not go against him.
Kaiton felt his mood sink when he sensed her calm heartbeat. Seeing her so close to August, he couldn’t help but feel irritated for no apparent reason. He couldn’t stand how relaxed she was in front of him right now, instead of the annoyance she showed with August.
How could he make Muriel’s indifferent face twist in pain? How could he leave a lasting scar that would never fade away? Kaiton tightened his grip, imagining Muriel’s anguished face with tears streaming down, but she didn’t even blink.
He didn’t like it.
“Has everything been well at the Storm territory”
He asked impulsively.
“I heard that Ur’s power appeared in Storm Estate a few days ago.”
Finally, Muriel’s expressionless face cracked. Yes, it seems even she had no choice to react to this. Kaiton pulled Muriel, who’d gotten away, closer and whispered in her ear. He didn’t want August, who was most likely trying to hear their conversation, to overhear him.
“Someone used the fragment of Ur in the Storm estate.”
He had been surprised when he felt Muriel’s Pacio coming through the sculpture not long ago. He thought Muriel wouldn’t easily touch the fragment, so he had been considering ways to push her to do soHe didn’t expect her to use it so easily.
Kaiton became displeased, even though the desired outcome had been achieved. It was beyond comprehension. Perhaps it was because he was afraid he’d have another piece taken away from him by Sharan so easily.
Muriel’s magic skills were terrible, and she didn’t know how to use the fragment properly, so she’d undoubtedly end up under Sharan’s radar. Yes, this complicated feeling he was experiencing was because he didn’t want to lose piece.
Kaiton thought it was only a matter of time before Muriel was caught by Sharan. Muriel had directly inserted her Pacio into the fragment and used it. The stupid Sharan didn’t even know that she was the saint who would save the kingdom, so he would brutally torture her before inevitably killing her.
For a moment, he caught himself calculating the probability of finding Muriel before Sharan’s pursuit did. He clenched his teeth in frustration.
He’d risk his life to save Muriel? Impossible. Haven’t he imagined Muriel’s death countless times? Among them was the possibility of her dying at the hands of Sharan. But now, on a brief impulse, he was considering foiling his long wait…?
‘I told you not to use black magic. You mustn’t become a black wizard!’
‘I’m a descendant of Ur. We’ve been black wizards for generations. Then what do you want me to do? Do you want me to live my whole life as a weakling?’
‘Kaiton is a fool. You promised me…’
‘You’re the fool, Mure. You knew I was a black wizard from the beginning. W-why are you crying…? Don’t cry!’
‘If you become a black wizard, I will die.’
‘…what? You’re lying to prevent me from using black magic, aren’t you? There’s no connection between me using black magic and you dying!’
‘There is! Kaiton Ur will kill me with black magic. Because I am the saint who will save the world!’
[The Black Wizard Kaiton Ur kills Muriel Storm, who will save the world.]
From the moment Muriel had declared so when she found him hiding in that plateau with a red, frozen face, their fate hadn’t changed. For 12 years, Kaiton had been steadily running towards that unchanging future.
Now, the time had come. Miracles didn’t happen. The two of them were destined to end up like this. Kaiton couldn’t help but be annoyed that Muriel didn’t remember him until the end, but he thought there was no turning back now.
But then, an absurd miracle did happen.
Sharan’s eyes, who had never missed a beat of Ur’s power, didn’t see Muriel’s clumsy use of it. That night was quiet throughout without Sharan’s pursuit team coming out. Muriel survived, and appeared before him unharmed.
Kaiton felt an indescribable emotion as he looked at Muriel’s naturally pale face. Was he happy that she was back? Was he happy because he could now deal with her himself? Or if not, was he afraid of an inevitable fate?
“They say Sharan is secretly searching for the one who used Ur’s fragments around the Storm Territory.”
“No way..”
“It is said that they didn’t fear Sharan’s eyes, and devoted their Pacio directly to the sculpture. Any idea who that might be, Muriel?”
“I… W-Who the hell would do such a thing? I… I have no idea.”
“Sigh… Why on earth would they do that? There must have been a way to use the fragment while avoiding Sharan’s eyes.”
Muriel awkwardly pretended and avoided eye contact.
Kaiton sighed as he watched Muriel’s eyes swirl as if she was uncomfortable.
Of course, it was a lie that Sharan was chasing a follower of Ur. It was a shallow lie to see what the hell Muriel was thinking.
Kaiton still could not define what he felt about Muriel still being alive and in front of his eyes. But he was certain he would not let her be caught by Sharan again.
If Muriel gets caught by Sharan, he’ll lose the precious fragment.
If he were to kill Muriel, slowly taking away her Pacio would be a good method. Once the flames that warmed her heart extinguished, she would shiver uncontrollably from the cold. Just like he shuddered back then in the freezing plateau all throughout that year.
Muriel responded very awkwardly, pretending not to be the culprit.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it was a mistake or they didn’t know? Who doesn’t fear Sharan’s eyes…? It must have been a mistake.”
“Hmm. Then, it seems that Ur’s fragment has fallen into the hands of a very stupid person this time.”
Kaiton said shamelessly as if he didn’t know that person was Muriel. Muriel’s eyes flashed with anger upon hearing the insult, and Kaiton smirked.
“I don’t know how that fool managed to avoid Sharan’s eyes, but their luck won’t last twice. Will that person be able to use Ur’s fragment properly next time? They’ll have to find a discreet way to avoid getting caught.”
‘Why are you asking me about that?!’
At this point, this was just an open conversation between the Demon King Ur and his follower.
Although she wanted to play dumb, she thought she should reassure him in case he was afraid Sharan would take the fragment away from her.
“Well… they must have known that avoiding Sharan’s eyes was a stroke of luck. They won’t leave any more clues… Sharan will have a hard time tracking Ur then. Haha. You should hurry up and catch Ur.”
“That’s fortunate to hear. This follower seems so stupid that I think they’re going to get caught by the tail by Sharan soon.”
She couldn’t believe he kept calling her stupid like this. Yet, Muriel, who had to pretend not to know until the end, went along with it without baring her teeth at him, despite being annoyed by him.
“…I mean, I can’t be sure since I’m not them, but they might never touch the power of the fragment again. Maybe it was just simple curiosity.”
However, Kaiton chuckled as he looked at Muriel.
“I don’t think so. Once someone obtains the power of the Demon King, they cannot easily give it up.”
His dark eyes seemed to be casting a curse. You can never escape. You will eventually fall into an endless abyss since you have touched the power of Ur. It felt like he was enticing her with a low, enchanting voice.
Muriel roughly pulled her hand out of his grasp. She wasn’t interested in power, but listening to the low voice that resonated in her heart made her feel like she might actually end up wanting Ur’s power.
“Not everyone desires power. Some people want peace… and the person who used the fragment… might be one of them. A pacifist.”
“A pacifist who uses the power of the Demon King. How hilarious.”
Ah… she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Oh, but, do you not know? Ur is not the Demon King.”
“!”
A flicker of uncertainty crossed Kaiton’s face. A surprise that couldn’t be contained spread across his cold and rigid expression.
“What are you talking about?”
He asked sharply.
“The Demon King is the ruler of the Demon Realm, but Ur is just a dark wizard who borrows the power of darkness. Ur’s fragment is also not the power of the Demon King. Although that power is remarkable, yes, but it doesn’t belong to a demon. Anyways, he’s not the Demon King.”
Muriel’s challenging gaze and stubborn words brought back old memories that Kaiton had struggled to suppress.
‘Ur is not the Demon King, you fool.’
The words shouted by a girl with flushed cheeks due to the cold wind on the plateau kept ringing in his mind. They pierced through the solid wall he had built around his heart, allowing the chilly wind of the plateau to seep in.
To make him waver like this when she couldn’t even remember anything.
Why was she trying to shake him with these words?
He couldn’t forgive her for daring to sway him on a subject she knew nothing about.
“To have such blasphemous thoughts. Does it not matter to you if you are labeled as a follower of the Demon King?”
He threw away the pretense of being Kai Crawford, the court wizard, and growled fiercely.
“Ur is the Demon King, Muriel.”
Muriel furrowed her brows in discontent, without being intimidated by Kaiton’s threatening momentum. If fear hadn’t been completely eradicated along with her sense, Kaiton’s expression was terrifying enough to make her legs tremble, but Muriel felt no such fear.
She thought that if she pushed a little further, he might even charge at her, but that was all. She was emotionally detached, like she was reading a book.
“Are you implying Ur is as powerful as the Demon King? Surely, someone like Mr. Crawford doesn’t truly believe Ur is a real demon king like the people of Bulrion, do you?”
